I’d like to look at command/who’s in command/is Mitchell a good commander issue purely from the stand-point of the characters, ignoring any meta/political stuff about the actors/TPTB/skiffy/Sony etc.
Ok, the way I see it, SG1 was disbanded at the beginning of S9. Sam was head of R&D at area 51, Teal’c was trying to sort out Jaffa politics and Daniel was on his way to Atlantis. General O’Neill gave Mitchell command of SG1, General Landry made it clear when Mitchell arrived at the SGC that he wasn’t joining SG1 he was leading it and as Sam, Teal’c and Daniel had gone or were going, he had to form a new team. All that is cannon on the show.
People have questioned why Sam, Teal’c and Daniel would accept Mitchell as their new leader, I’m going to offer my perspective. Sam and Daniel are the experts in their fields at the SGC, Teal’c, at the end of S8, was the leader of the Jaffa rebellion and has been very involved with Jaffa politics. He’s probably the expert at the SGC on all things Jaffa and Gao’uld. Between the three of them they also have more Gate experience and more understanding of what’s out there than anyone else at the SGC. They work well together, respecting and acknowledging each others expertise, allowing each other to lead the way as the situation dictates. They work as a team of equals, they don’t need a Leader.
So now Mitchell comes along, having been given the command of an SG1 which no longer exists, and asks them to reform. Why would they accept him as Leader when they are all leaders in their own right? People have questioned whether Mitchell is a good leader, saying that he doesn’t seem very commanding or good at giving orders. They seem to see this as a weakness. IMO, if Mitchell had been that way, if he was all gung-ho and commanding, Sam, Teal’c and Daniel would have never have agreed to rejoin SG1. If we use Mitchell’s own phrase of “getting the band back together”, I see him in the role of Manager. They don’t need anyone telling them what to do but having someone like Mitchell, who respects them and their expertise, can be useful to them in many ways. For a start, he can deal with all the admin and pesky paper work that comes from being in charge. In his position as leader, he can run interference for them with General Landry, arguing their case for missions etc, freeing up some of their time. He can watch their backs on missions and deal with the SGC when needed, again, freeing them to do what they’re best at (that was shown very clearly in “Prototype”). That’s what they need him for and why, IMO, they agreed to be under his Leadership and rejoin SG1.
Now for the thorny issue of Sam. ;o) Yes, she was leader of SG1 last season, then SG1 disbanded and she went to work as head of R&D at area 51. I don’t see Sam as someone who’s ego needs her to be “in charge”. She knows she can command, she knows that she’s respected enough to be put in charge of R&D at area 51, I assume she’s the head of the “Science geeks” at the SGC. What Sam is about for me is Science and discovery, being the best solder she can be and saving the universe from what ever threat is at hand. Having Mitchell as leader of SG1, knowing that she has his respect and will follow her lead when it matters I think is good enough for Sam. She wants to do the best she can and if Mitchell, taking on the role of leader, helps her with that, then I don’t think she’ll have a problem. Does she “deserve” to be the leader? Probably, and I would imagine that if she asked for her own command she’d get it. When she goes out with other teams (again, see “Prototype”) she’s obviously the one in charge then but I think what’s more important to her is doing he job the best she can and working along side Daniel and Teal’c, people she knows well and trusts. As I said, I don’t see her as someone so ego led that she needs to be in charge of the team.
Is Mitchell a good leader? Maybe not from a military perspective. Maybe not if you like to see your leaders as "Makepeace" types, big on being in command and giving orders. For me though, Mitchell is the perfect commander for these three unique and experienced people. He gives them space to do what they need to do, he recognises and respects their expertise and experience and he’s there to watch their backs and lead the way when the need arises. I don’t think they would have accepted any other kind of leader for SG1 after Jack left. He got the “band back together” and he “managers” then well, they in turn can get on with the business of producing the best music they can
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As I said at the beginning, I really don’t want to get into a discussion about all the meta reasons why Mitchell is in charge or the behind the scenes politics. This is purely about the characters as I see them and the dynamics which now exist within SG1 as they appear to me. PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE, let’s not turn this into a bashing session or rants against TPTB.
Ok, the way I see it, SG1 was disbanded at the beginning of S9. Sam was head of R&D at area 51, Teal’c was trying to sort out Jaffa politics and Daniel was on his way to Atlantis. General O’Neill gave Mitchell command of SG1, General Landry made it clear when Mitchell arrived at the SGC that he wasn’t joining SG1 he was leading it and as Sam, Teal’c and Daniel had gone or were going, he had to form a new team. All that is cannon on the show.
People have questioned why Sam, Teal’c and Daniel would accept Mitchell as their new leader, I’m going to offer my perspective. Sam and Daniel are the experts in their fields at the SGC, Teal’c, at the end of S8, was the leader of the Jaffa rebellion and has been very involved with Jaffa politics. He’s probably the expert at the SGC on all things Jaffa and Gao’uld. Between the three of them they also have more Gate experience and more understanding of what’s out there than anyone else at the SGC. They work well together, respecting and acknowledging each others expertise, allowing each other to lead the way as the situation dictates. They work as a team of equals, they don’t need a Leader.
So now Mitchell comes along, having been given the command of an SG1 which no longer exists, and asks them to reform. Why would they accept him as Leader when they are all leaders in their own right? People have questioned whether Mitchell is a good leader, saying that he doesn’t seem very commanding or good at giving orders. They seem to see this as a weakness. IMO, if Mitchell had been that way, if he was all gung-ho and commanding, Sam, Teal’c and Daniel would have never have agreed to rejoin SG1. If we use Mitchell’s own phrase of “getting the band back together”, I see him in the role of Manager. They don’t need anyone telling them what to do but having someone like Mitchell, who respects them and their expertise, can be useful to them in many ways. For a start, he can deal with all the admin and pesky paper work that comes from being in charge. In his position as leader, he can run interference for them with General Landry, arguing their case for missions etc, freeing up some of their time. He can watch their backs on missions and deal with the SGC when needed, again, freeing them to do what they’re best at (that was shown very clearly in “Prototype”). That’s what they need him for and why, IMO, they agreed to be under his Leadership and rejoin SG1.
Now for the thorny issue of Sam. ;o) Yes, she was leader of SG1 last season, then SG1 disbanded and she went to work as head of R&D at area 51. I don’t see Sam as someone who’s ego needs her to be “in charge”. She knows she can command, she knows that she’s respected enough to be put in charge of R&D at area 51, I assume she’s the head of the “Science geeks” at the SGC. What Sam is about for me is Science and discovery, being the best solder she can be and saving the universe from what ever threat is at hand. Having Mitchell as leader of SG1, knowing that she has his respect and will follow her lead when it matters I think is good enough for Sam. She wants to do the best she can and if Mitchell, taking on the role of leader, helps her with that, then I don’t think she’ll have a problem. Does she “deserve” to be the leader? Probably, and I would imagine that if she asked for her own command she’d get it. When she goes out with other teams (again, see “Prototype”) she’s obviously the one in charge then but I think what’s more important to her is doing he job the best she can and working along side Daniel and Teal’c, people she knows well and trusts. As I said, I don’t see her as someone so ego led that she needs to be in charge of the team.
Is Mitchell a good leader? Maybe not from a military perspective. Maybe not if you like to see your leaders as "Makepeace" types, big on being in command and giving orders. For me though, Mitchell is the perfect commander for these three unique and experienced people. He gives them space to do what they need to do, he recognises and respects their expertise and experience and he’s there to watch their backs and lead the way when the need arises. I don’t think they would have accepted any other kind of leader for SG1 after Jack left. He got the “band back together” and he “managers” then well, they in turn can get on with the business of producing the best music they can
)As I said at the beginning, I really don’t want to get into a discussion about all the meta reasons why Mitchell is in charge or the behind the scenes politics. This is purely about the characters as I see them and the dynamics which now exist within SG1 as they appear to me. PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE, let’s not turn this into a bashing session or rants against TPTB.
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